


leave no scone unturned

by benwvatt



Category: The Resident (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M, i specifically googled bread puns for this, jess and irving are the best, nothing ventured nothing grained
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:19:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29043000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benwvatt/pseuds/benwvatt
Summary: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I really didn’t wanna wake you up but I kind of,” Nic stumbles, “I need banana bread. I can’t stop thinking about it.”“Okay.” Conrad scrubs his eyes; this isn’t the first time Nic’s woken him up in the middle of the night with pregnancy cravings.
Relationships: Conrad Hawkins/Nicolette Nevin
Comments: 19
Kudos: 55





	1. one

Conrad’s only been sleeping for a handful of hours when he receives a brush to his shoulder. Eyes dry, he’s forced into the light. “Nic? You okay?”

She’s tearing up a little. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I really didn’t wanna wake you up but I kind of,” she stumbles, “I need banana bread. I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Okay.” He scrubs his eyes; this isn’t the first time Nic’s woken him up in the middle of the night with cravings. Last month she went through a garlic, carrots, and onions phase that had their pantry looking like a farmer’s market. (Her breath wasn’t great, either, but she was weepy so it was best to brush over that.)

“We don’t have bananas,” Conrad reminds her. Not helping, he thinks with a wince, and she tears up a little more. Nic normally hates them, she’d never buy them. But hormones do whatever they want, and evidently his pregnant wife is a changed woman now. She and the baby want banana bread. This is his mission now.

“Jess and Irving bake a lot. Do you think they might have some? Could you call them?” Nic lays a hand on his shoulder. She wipes away a tear with her sleeve. Technically, it’s Conrad’s faded marines shirt, but what’s his is hers.

“Honey,” he sighs, everything still looking a little blurred. “It’s 4 AM.”

“The baby doesn’t know that,” Nic replies, groaning. Her back’s been sore lately; Conrad hands her a pillow almost as a reflex.

“Better?”

“Thank you.” She presses a kiss to his forehead. “For everything.”

“Don’t thank me yet, I haven’t gotten us past this craving yet. Let me think,” Conrad runs over the schedules at Chastain, they’ve had some changes in the past week. Irving’s on day shifts, but Jess is on nights. “Alright, I could call Jess, drive to Chastain, get her keys, go over to her place, take banana bread and/or bananas and other stuff because we’re out of baking soda and that’s important when you’re baking-”

“Since when were we baking?!”

“Since you asked your husband for banana bread.” He says it matter-of-factly, unwilling to come this far without giving Nic what she needs. What she and the _baby_ need, he thinks. Sometimes he still can’t believe they’re having a kid together.

Nic cheers a little, hands thrown in the air. “I really love you. These are happy tears,” she explains, “I’m sorry, it’s not like I’m sobbing but I just tear up so easily now and-”

Conrad kisses her.

“And I knew there was a reason I married you,” she finishes. “That’s a really complicated plan. You sure you’re up for it?”

“We shall see,” he murmurs, sitting up and grabbing his phone and keys. “You just work on developing the baby’s internal organs, and I’ll try to figure out a recipe.”

“This week she’s developing lungs,” Nic announces proudly, which would sound a little odd in any other situation. “Twenty-six weeks.”

“Twenty-six weeks. You’re gonna be a fantastic mom,” he murmurs, sprinkling yet another pick-me-up into their conversations. He enjoys reminding her. “Caring and funny and attending PTA meetings.”

She frowns. “Well, I dunno about joining the PTA. Those women can be pretty judgy.”

“Well, you can begrudgingly make cookies for the PTA bake sales.”

“Or you can,” she teases him, holding the collar of his shirt and kissing him goodbye. “Better come home quickly and quit talking about baking. I’m really hungry.”

Operation ‘my pregnant wife wants yet another niche food and YEP it’s too early to be awake but here we are anyways!’ is a go.

* * *

_[messages, 4:33 AM]_

**conrad:** okay I’m really sorry to ask  
**conrad:** Nic has pregnancy cravings  
**conrad:** do you guys have any banana bread?

 **jessica:** REMIND ME TO PROFESS MY LOVE TO NIC  
**jessica:** we accidentally told Irving’s mother we loved her recipe so she dropped off 3 entire loaves


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [messages, 4:46 AM]  
>  **nic:** have i ever told you you’re my favorite husband?
> 
>  **conrad:** oh thank goodness, last time I ranked 4th place

**jessica:** REMIND ME TO PROFESS MY LOVE TO NIC  
**jessica:** we accidentally told Irving’s mother we loved her recipe so she dropped off 3 entire loaves

 **conrad:** bless your soul  
**conrad:** I’ll come by chastain and borrow your house keys?  
**conrad:** I can just pick it up myself and then return your keys

 **jessica:** absolutely!  
**jessica:** can you take all of it  
**jessica:** and I mean ALL of it  
**jessica:** Irving and I just started a diet together and we’re miserable  
**jessica:** we stare at carbs all day without the willpower to throw them out

* * *

Conrad makes the five-minute drive to the hospital like any other day. The traffic’s lighter. It feels too early to be awake, as if the world hasn’t finished building itself yet, and the streetlights are eerie. There they stand, faint and red-yellow, glowing in the fog. But, hey, being awake at treacherous hours is practice for fatherhood, he reminds himself. Hello, screaming bundle of joy.

Oh, he can’t wait.

Conrad thinks he’ll be 一 he could be? he _should_ be? 一 a good father. He’s read books (four of them, he’s halfway through the fifth) and watched overeager Youtube videos about bath temperature and diaper brands. He’s talked to his own father about it, as difficult as it was. Conrad knows Nic can’t ask her mother about how to raise a child, and she’ll always wonder what advice she could’ve received. So he doesn’t take his father for granted, even if he’s left asking dumb questions like ‘private versus public school’ and ‘piano or violin?’

Alright, so maybe a newborn can’t play a musical instrument in the first place, yet it’s still a valid question. Conrad likes to wonder, likes to plan ahead and trace his meandering thoughts until they’ve played themselves out in front of him.

(Piano and violin aren’t the only options for his unborn child’s musical education. However, Conrad learned enough from his five months of trumpet lessons 一 and his parents’ five months of earplug-wearing 一 that you shouldn’t hand a brass instrument to a twelve-year-old. String instruments it is.)

Sighing, he parks the car. It’s 4:45 by now, so early the birds are still asleep. Conrad makes his way into the elevator and rubs at his eyes; those blue-white fluorescents are too close for comfort. Behind him, Nurse Hundley raises an eyebrow. “You forget something in your office, Conrad?”

“No, I’m here for Jessica’s house keys. She, um,” he waves his hand in a circle; how exactly should he navigate this conversation while sleep-drunk? “Nic has pregnancy cravings, Jess has the thing she needs.”

“Ah, best of luck. I remember when I was pregnant with Raylee, there were nights when I couldn’t get enough of hamburgers and nutella.”

Conrad makes a face. “Together? Apart?”

“Both. Not a pretty sight.” Hundley shares in his grimace. “I was glad to have Raylee’s father doing all my grocery runs, though. I’m sure Nic appreciates it too. You’re doing a good thing, even if you _are_ running around the hospital at the crack of dawn trying to borrow some keys.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence,” Conrad tells her, stepping out of the elevator. “Enjoy the rest of your graveyard shift!”

“I’ll try.” With that, she walks away.

Conrad sees Jessica waving him down once he’s arrived on the fourth floor, keys in hand. She blurts out that she’s on a break, she’s got to see a patient in like two minutes but ‘good timing!’ and ‘conrad, we cannot emphasize how much we appreciate you.’ Jess delivers this second line with a stark depth in her eyes, the gritted-teeth quality you end up finding in people who’ve been taunted by baked goods they’re not allowed to eat.

“Isn’t Nic the reason why I’m here in the first place?” Conrad asks. He notices that Jess and Irving have settled in that singular ‘we’ that couples so often use. _We_ take our vacations on the east coast and we don’t know why the car’s engine light keeps coming on.

It’s kind of cute, actually. Conrad remembers that, the day he met Nic, Jess also met Irving. They were a lot younger back then.

“Well, thanks to both of you, then. Give Nic all my best. Oh, and there’s a baby gift we meant to give her! It’s on the dining table, it’s got a card, you’ll know it when you see it.”

“Really? Thank you guys so much.” Conrad feels a little old receiving a gift meant for his wife and child, honestly. Endless nights and bottles of beer have simmered out; now he stays up talking to Nic about taking prenatal vitamins and enrolling in the good preschool. He likes this version of himself better, though.

He has a family. Sometimes it still feels surreal.

It’s twenty more minutes down the elevator, through the parking lot, car keys in the ignition and house keys cradled in the cupholder. He finds Jess and Irving’s apartment easily, tiptoeing in because he knows Irving must be sleeping before his shift begins. Conrad carries out the banana bread and a small gift bag with clunky motions.

Stabilizing the breadpans with his knee (Nic would kill him if he dropped a single loaf of her precious banana bread), he ushers the goods out the door. Conrad even manages to turn off the kitchen lights during his balancing act. Score!

* * *

**conrad:** on my way home  
**conrad:** with three (3) loaves of banana bread

 **nic:** ♡♡♡  
**nic:** BLESS

 **conrad:** all in a day’s work :))

 **nic:** have i ever told you you’re my favorite husband?

 **conrad:** oh thank goodness, last time I ranked 4th place

* * *

“Hi,” Nic greets him at home, unusually cheery. She lulls him into an embrace with her arms open. “You should sit. Relax. Get some shut-eye.”

“Are you kidding? After my 4 AM banana bread run I don’t even get to eat any? Blasphemy.” Conrad brings two plates and forks to her. She’s sitting in bed, bundled in blankets and sheets. “Irving and Jess got you a baby gift, too.”

“Wow. The shower isn’t for another month-” she sets her eyes on the loaf of bread he brings into their room, reaching for it. “Ooh, gimme!” She hugs the aluminum pan to her chest, inhaling the smell of butter and crumbs. “Oh, true love. It smells so good.”

Conrad drops a kiss to her forehead. “You’re adorable. But please don’t fall in love with a baked good and leave me.”

“Can’t have my cake and eat it too, can I?”

“Nah.”

Nic moans, biting into her banana bread. “Oh, thank you for driving to Chastain and then to Jess and Irving’s for this. The baby and I are really grateful.” She moves her hand to her bump out of habit, always wanting to watch over her little girl.

“Yeah, is it everything you needed?”

“Everything and more. And I _would_ kiss you, I swear, except I’m a little busy right now.” She points to her plate, licking crumbs from her lips. “Can you get me another slice?” 

“I think I’ve created a monster. Honestly, we can thank Mrs. Feldman for that.” Conrad slings his arm over her shoulder and kisses her cheek, content to supply her with affection if her hands are too occupied to return it. He cuts another piece and lays it on her dish. “How’re you doing? Is your back still sore?”

“A little. This thirty-dollar pregnancy pillow’s helping, though,” Nic rolls her eyes at him over the rim of her reading glasses. She hates overpriced things. It’s just a little hard to hate them when those things can soothe that knot in the small of her back.

“Glad to hear it, babe.” Seeing she’s fine, Conrad finally bites into his banana bread. “ _Oh_ my-”

It tastes so good, he might never stop eating. Buttery soft, spiced with cinnamon, it’s even filled with pecans.

“I told you!”

“This is like a religious experience. I don’t even care about the carbs.”

Nic laughs. “Too bad I didn’t marry Irving. I could get his mother to give me desserts all the time.”

“But then you wouldn’t have these rugged good looks to come home to.” 

“Mmm, that’s fair.” She finishes her second slice (listen, they’re _small_ pieces and she’s got pregnancy cravings on top of that!) Nic puts her plate down on the dresser and kisses him hard ー her second-trimester hormones are going all over the place, she swears. These days she can’t get enough of his touch. “Listen, there’s something else I’ve been needing since you left home.”

“Yeah?” he murmurs.

“I know it’s like 5 in the morning. You must be tired. But if you’re up for it...” her hand roams down his neck and chest, hinting not-so-subtly at her urges. “We could, uh, have some fun.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” Conrad puts his plate down too, focusing all his attention on her. “I’m always here to give you whatever you’re craving, aren’t I?” He kisses her again. He tugs his t-shirt over his head. “I really love your pregnancy hormones, by the way.”

“I like ‘em too. My sex drive is kinda going through the roof, and I am _not_ complaining.”

“Well, I know I didn’t hear any complaining last night. And I don’t think we’ll have any complaints this morning, either...” He pulls off her pajama shirt in one smooth motion, hanging it on the headboard.

She’s laughing, so lucky to have him. Everything feels safe when Conrad’s around. This is someplace Nic never thought she’d be: awake in the early hours of the morning, married and happy and warm in her bed, carrying a _baby_. Six whole months along. They’re out of the woods. For almost a year after the miscarriage, she’d sworn off wanting children altogether, too scared to try again and get her heart bruised by the loss of another pregnancy.

Conrad knows it, and he couldn’t be more supportive. She married a good man.

The baby kicks just then, probably waking up thanks to Nic’s racing heart. When Mom’s awake, baby Nevin-Hawkins is too.

“Hey, baby,” Conrad greets, palming the swell of Nic’s stomach. “Listen, kid, we’ll teach you about the birds and the bees later on-”

“Stop making sex jokes to our unborn child!”

“Right now Mom and Dad just need to do what moms and dads do,” he stage-whispers. “Got it?”

Nic’s blushing. She’s thirty-five and perfectly comfortable talking about sex to everyone other than her own kid. Blame her maybe-sorta-religious upbringing for sticking.

Her laugh rolls inside her chest like a ship tossed at sea, and she grips Conrad’s shoulder. “If we’re gonna have sex, you can’t tell the baby about it. It’s weird. She can hear you from inside the womb. Do you really want her first memories to be of this conversation?”

“I’m pretty sure the baby already knows we had sex, though.”

She kisses him to shut him up. “Dork.” Nic looks down to her stomach. “Baby girl, you gotta find someone just like him, you hear that?”

“I feel so honored.”

“Oh, honey, you should. I’m a delight to be married to.”

“Hell yeah, you are.” He kisses her deeply; she’s his favorite thrill in this life.

“I’m really lucky to be your wife too, you should know that,” Nic says with soft eyes. She’s starting to tear up now.

They don’t say anything for a while after that, but he knows.

* * *

Irving and Jessica’s baby gift is a lemon-yellow scrapbook, and the first thing that goes inside is Mrs. Feldman’s banana bread recipe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just have a lot of FEELINGS about 4x06 and conrad and billie both being opposite forces of chaos when it comes to poor Nic and her medical care? Like, I get that you love her, but let her breathe and make her own decisions
> 
> So here, hopefully 2k words of fluff regarding pregnant Nic has made some of that stress disappear <3

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! 
> 
> just couldn't stop myself from writing this because (a) I love desserts but also (b) conrad and nic are having a baby!!! and (c) clearly, any man who buys prenatal vitamins and a foot massager would go to the ends of the earth to get banana bread for his wife
> 
> let me know what you think! comments and kudos are so, so appreciated.
> 
> Also, I was originally going to title this "I loaf you" but that seemed much too cheesy.


End file.
